! Scigolf presents Scott Hazledine Answers Your Golfing Questions On Your Golf Game.

Question 48

Dear Scott,
It seems to me when observing your swing from behind that you release the club with rotation not a straightening of your right wrist as it is clearly visible in slow motion. Am I wrong? You say it is ok for the club grip to hit the right forearm but yours clearly does not. I am not trying to criticize, but am wondering if you are teaching something you really don't do.
Loren

Dear Loren,

Yes sir, you are wrong. When you are doing the impact backwards drills, the first drill with only the right hand on the club, the handle can and will strike the forearm. There is nothing to restricted it from moving into the forearm.

With your forward hand placed on the grip, the first knuckle of the thumb can and does strike the wrist if you use a thumb wrap-around grip. I've had bruises to prove that, and in earlier videos wore a sweatband to prevent bruising. This is why I advocate the thumb down the shaft (referring to the left hand) to prevent the knuckle of the left hand from bruising the wrist of the right hand.

What you will see on the full swing, with both hands on the club, is that at impact the right arm will straighten and the right thumb will stay on the same plane relative to the ball into impact and full extension. Only after impact do you see a change of the plane that the hands move up on. Also make note that the right arm piston is inside (closer to the body) than the left arm rod.

Place your right hand with both your thumb pad and your heel pad flat on your left forearm and wrap your fingers and thumb over the wrist hinge. While holding the wrist make a full backswing and start your downswing by moving your right elbow in front of your right hip. Stop at a position where you have a 90 degree angle of your palm to the target. In this position your elbow will be in front of the hip, the left arm will be parallel down the target line and the palm will be pointing forward of you (right palm). At this point you have effectively simulated that six 100th of a second before impact. Now simply straighten out to your right arm and wrist. If you do this same motion on the table top you will find the same point of contact exists throughout the motion. The point of contact that I'm referring to is the knuckle and wrist bone of the right hand. This is exactly what Moe does and what I strive for.

I have numerous tapes showing this example in my full swing. I am quite interested in finding out if you made that observation incorrectly or if a fellow golf pro, not familiar with single axis and how it works, misunderstood my swing.